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How to Impress at Your Interview

12 years ago in Personal development

The job interview. Your Broadway stage entrance, your time to shine and dazzle. Nothing else is as critical in landing the job, it is your opportunity to show to a potential employer how eloquent and vibrant you are. If you can’t impress on the interview, your chances of success are super slim. Here in her latest post, Carissa explains why:

One of the questions I hear most often is, "How do I ace a job interview?" The simple answer is, "Convince the interviewer you’re the best candidate for the job." Here are a few tips for how to do that — for any job.

  1. Smile
    Smiling — more than you ever would in day-to-day life — shows your potential employer that you are friendly and pleasant to work with. Particularly in cities not known for friendliness, a smile can set you apart from other candidates and make you appear more confident and better qualified.
  2. Dress the part
    The best thing you can wear to an interview — and the only thing you should consider wearing when it’s an interview for an office job — is a clean, pressed suit. Dressing professionally shows your potential employer that you take the job seriously.
  3. Be well groomed
    Make sure your clothes are free of stains and wrinkles, your shoes are clean, and and your hair is combed and out of your eyes. Looking fashionable isn’t important for an interview, but looking clean and well groomed is.
  4. Be prepared
    Find the building where you need to go and plot out how you will get there in advance to ensure you are on time on interview day — allow plenty of time for traffic and subway delays. A day or two before your interview, hold a practice interview with a friend. Have your friend ask you any questions he thinks you might hear in an interview, and be sure to go over the standard questions (e.g., "Why do you want this job?") that come up in every interview. Jot down a question or two to ask your interviewer when he asks if you have any questions, such as, "What is a typical work day like here?" And bring a few copies of your résumé with you to the interview — at least one interviewer is sure to ask you for one because he forgot to bring his own copy.
  5. Be confident
    Holding a practice interview with a friend — even if only for a few minutes — can go a long way toward making you feel more confident at the real interview. For an addition confidence boost, remember this: Your interviewer wants you to do well. He wants to be able to hire you so he can be finished with filling that job. This is not just a pep talk; I am completely serious.

If you have an interview coming up and would like more detailed advice for your individual situation, send me an email at . I’m happy to help.

Carissa Doshi is a business writer and the president of Gen Y Media Group. She gives career advice and blogs about her experiences on www.carissadoshi.com. You can also follow @CarissaDoshi on Twitter.

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Link: Free AC unit for low income Brooklyn residents

12 years ago in General news

The blog BedStuy Patch is reporting about the Sunset Park Redevelopment Committee, which has just unveiled an emergency cooling program for low-income, sick or elderly residents of Brooklyn.

Those who qualify under the program, such as those with medical conditions that put them at risk during a heat wave, will receive a free air conditioning unit, installed at no charge. The program runs from now until September 2011, or until funds run out.

Guidelines for qualification include either documentation providing proof of medical need for a cooling system, proof of income to determine financial need, proof of HEAP/PA/SSI or being a food stamp receipient, and landlord authorization. Additionally, you cannot already own a functional air conditioner in the home.

Call the SSPRC at 718-492-8580 or email them at keepcool2011@gmail.com for more details.

Read the full article about the program over at BedStuy Patch.

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Thank You Notes

12 years ago in Personal development

A thank you note is an often overlooked post-interview practice, which in this time of email and IMs, is falling to the wayside. But it shouldn’t, it’s another important way of making yourself stand out as a serious candidate for a job. Read on and let Carissa explain why:

Sending thank you notes after an interview is a great way to follow up about a job you want without feeling like you’re pestering the employer. It’s also just good etiquette. Here are some tips to make the most of post-interview thank you notes:

  1. Send a brief thank you message by email, followed by a mailed thank you note. This gives you two opportunities to remind the employer of who you are and how great you’d be for that job.
  2. Use simple, professional-looking thank you notes or blank cards, and write them by hand. This gives them a more personal quality than printing them from your computer.
  3. Include your contact information in case the interviewer wants to get in touch with you.
  4. Keep it short and sweet. Use this opportunity to say thank you for taking the time to interview you, as well as mention something said at the interview to jog their memory of you. For example:
    <div style=’margin: 20px; background-color: #ededed;border:1px solid #e1e1e1; padding: 10px’>Dear Mr. Rodriguez,

    Thank you for taking the time to meet with me last Thursday. After the interview I’m more interested than ever in the team lead position. The Hamilton project you described sounds very interesting, and I think my skills and experience could be an asset. If you have any additional questions for me, please don’t hesitate to call me at 646-555-9424. I look forward to hearing from you, and thank you again.

    Best regards,
    Carissa Doshi
  • Send thank you notes to everyone who took the time to interview you — including HR and lower-ranking, non-decision-making employees. Hiring managers often ask their employees to screen potential new hires during the interview process, and treating those employees with the same politeness and respect you show their boss can both make you their favorite candidate and start a working relationship off on the right foot.



  • If thank you notes make you nervous because you still aren’t sure what to say, use this template [Word 2007]. Just fill in the blanks and copy it onto your own paper. Remember: what you say in your thank you notes isn’t half as important as the fact that you send them.
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    Carissa Doshi is a business writer and the president of Gen Y Media Group. She gives career advice and blogs about her experiences on www.carissadoshi.com. You can also follow @CarissaDoshi on Twitter.

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